NH Legislator Calls Women 'Vaginas' In House Email

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire legislator is drawing ire for referring to women as "vaginas" in an email to his House colleagues during a debate over repealing a law allowing people to use deadly force to defend themselves.

Amherst Republican Rep. Peter Hansen was referencing another legislator's speech about being able to retreat without using deadly force in public. Hansen, who supports the law, wrote in an April 1 email that "children and vagina's" were missing from the lawmaker's anecdotes.

Other lawmakers, NARAL-Pro Choice New Hampshire and state GOP Chairwoman Jennifer Horn are among those saying the remark debased women.

Hansen said Tuesday that he used the word for shock value and to bring people into the mindset of a perpetrator. He says his comment "has been totally blown out of proportion."